Tomatillo Salsa

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated June 10, 2024

  • Rikki Snyder for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(1,004)
Comments
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I make this tangy, versatile tomatillo salsa to accompany a range of Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes. It’s always great with shrimp and fish, and it’s my go-to salsa for tacos with chicken in the filling, and with vegetables like potatoes and greens, summer squash and corn. I roast the tomatillos under the broiler before blending them to get a deep, toasty flavor. You can also roast the chiles if you want a deeper roasted-spicy flavor, as opposed to grassy-spicy flavor. If you wish to roast the chiles alongside the tomatillos, place the whole chiles on the baking sheet, too; they will be done faster than the tomatillos, only a minute or two on each side. Once they're cool enough to handle, peel and stem them, and coarsely chop, then proceed with the recipe.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 cups

  • 1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed

  • 2 to 4 jalapeño or serrano chiles, to taste, coarsely chopped (and seeded, if you would like a milder salsa)

  • ¼ cup chopped white or yellow onion, soaked for 5 minutes in cold water, drained and rinsed

  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and halved (optional)

  • ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro

  • Salt to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

8 grams carbs; 43 calories; 1 gram fat; 3 grams fiber; 304 milligrams sodium; 1 gram protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat broiler, positioning a rack at the highest setting under the heat. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place tomatillos on top, stem side down. Broil 2 to 5 minutes, until charred on one side. Turn tomatillos over and broil 2 to 5 minutes longer, until charred. Transfer tomatillos to a blender, tipping in any juice that may have accumulated on the foil.

  2. Step 2

    Add chiles, onions, garlic (if using), cilantro and ¼ cup water to blender and blend to a coarse purée. Transfer to a bowl and thin out as desired with water. Taste and adjust salt. Set aside for at least 30 minutes before serving, to allow the flavors to develop.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,004 user ratings
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Comments

Leena

This is a classic take on Mexican salsa verde either this cooked version or as fresco. Living decades in AZ, it’s a staple. Easy to grow tomatillo vines are also now part of our landscaping mixed in the flowers and herbs, giving huge harvests. When this sauce gets too familiar, I change it up by blending in half or a whole avocado depending on how much I have left & how creamy I want it. Add a dash of chicken broth and you ave a great enchilada sauce too. Also excellent on any egg dish.

Joan

Fabulous and easy recipe. I put the onion, garlic and peppers in the broiler as well. Sometimes add a squeeze of lime at the end if it needs to be brightened up.

best tomatillo salsa

Roast the onion, peppers and garlic (skin on) with the tomatillos. Squeeze garlic out of skin into the blender with other ingredients. Add lime juice to make it perfect!

Lola

Warning: if making to serve later, make sure there are no tortilla chips or any other scooping snacks nearby when you go taste it after blending. Before I knew it, I had eaten half the bowl with some chips that were in the cupboard. It’s absolutely delicious. I added half a lime at the end and roasted all the ingredients on the pan before blending.

themodprofessor

I used jalapeños because I didn’t have any serrano chiles on hand. I used it to top a breakfast burrito. Shrimp tacos up next. Delicious!

Danielle C

made this as written, except used parsley instead of cilantro. after tasting it, i agreed with other comments on it needing some line juice (used half a lime). delicious! it made a ton, so I'm canning some to eat this winter.

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